U.S. Pat. No. 7,786,898 (Stein et al.) describes an automobile equipped with a sensing system that including two cameras, one an optical camera and the other a far infrared (thermal) camera, together with a control module for using the camera signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,491,937 (Nakanishi et al.) describes an image sensor capable of picking up both visible and infrared images. The sensor includes one integrated circuit carrying an array of thermal and optical sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,567,955 (Liu) describes an infrared thermal detector incorporating a far infrared to near infrared energy convertor.